Track Day tyre pressures - M2 Comp on Michelin Cup 2's

[London GT3]

I am running my standard M2 Comp on a trackday and I have put it on Cup 2 tyres (subject to weather). The car is standard in every way. Thoughts on tyre pressures (hot) would be appreciated.

I was going to keep them at 30psi hot and see how they feel.

Experience and first hand knowledge would be welcome.

Thanks

[Gouki]

Not from an M2 but I recently fitted Micheljn Cup 2 connect tyres on my E92 M3 and though likely a bit of a gimmick it took the guess work out of pressure adjustment. There was a live readout and then recommendations to adjust pressures after returning from the session. If I recall the M2 comp posseses a tyre temperature read out so you can use that during the day for reference.

You'll be surprised at the performance difference compared to supersports/PS4S on a warm day.

[FTW]

I’m considering Connects on my Cayman as it doesn’t have TPMS. Is the data useful on the live readout? They are meant to have an updated compound over the standard Cup2.

[Gouki]

The live data is useful, tells you when the tyres are up to temperature and when you have exceeded them. Many complaints about Michelin Cup 2 is where they're getting destroyed in a few trackdays, this likely mitigates the degradation somewhat.

The treadwear is now 240, which seems higher than before indicating a different compound.

[Gouki]

Just to be absolutely clear, I don't work for Michelin as you can tell by laptimes!

After playing about with the app briefly I found the following.

[FTW]

Thanks for sharing. It looks like a good bit of kit and should be very accurate as it is mounted on the back of the tyre tread. Here in the UK the sensors and receiver are £349 so not cheap. Was it tricky to get it set up and calibrated? I don't trust your average tyre shop to fit it and calibrate so I would likely use a specialist such as Litchfield Tuning.

Laguna Seca is a dream circuit of mine, I need to find a way to do a trackday there!

[Mark83]

Is there much in the way of camber adjustment on the front of a standard M2 Comp to get the most out of the tyres?

I'm killing the front outer shoulders on my M4 Comp as there's no camber adjustment. Hopefully there is on yours as it's getting expensive for me in tyres keeping the car standard albeit with track pads and fluid.

[Gouki]

The tyre shop who fitted my tyres had never installed these before, but I called ahead to make sure they'd received the tyres and the michelin receiver and sensors. They confirmed it and opened the box to get familiar with the instructions.

They installed them first time and as I drove away they all worked perfectly (no reading while stationary so don't panic).

They even put my old wheels in plastic bags as is pictured below. I'll definitely be going back to this place.

Not exactly the stereotypical kwik fit fitter, but don't count out all the usual establishments.

[Gouki]

Mark83 said:

Is there much in the way of camber adjustment on the front of a standard M2 Comp to get the most out of the tyres?

I'm killing the front outer shoulders on my M4 Comp as there's no camber adjustment. Hopefully there is on yours as it's getting expensive for me in tyres keeping the car standard albeit with track pads and fluid.

Nope, no camber adjustment and this link is now dead, but I copied the information from the Michelin website.

https://m.michelin.co.uk/high-performance/sport-dr...

“What pressure should I use for track driving with Michelin road tyres (e.g. MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 / MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport tyres)?

For Michelin road tyres, we suggest “hot” track pressures around 0.3 bar (4 to 5 psi) above the standard recommended cold tyre inflation pressures. If your tyre pressures are too low, this can lead to excessive flexing of the sidewall, a sensation of sponginess, a lack of steering response and abnormal wear. Pressures that are too high can lead to reduced grip, light steering, and even localised overheating”

I found for my E46 m3 in the UK when I dropped the tyre pressures for supersports / PS4S I'd get sidewall degradation.

[nickfrog]

A decent rule of thumb is to start on cold road pressure (to avoid shoulder damage induced by under inflating early) and come in after 2/3 laps to let air out back down to cold pressure. And repeat if necessary. In practice I have found that running around 0.3 bar under cold road pressure seemed to be the sweet spot indeed but every circuit or day is different (my car is a OG M2). Using the onboard temp/pressure monitor is great (can be invoked by the "tyre pressure" voice command btw).

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 1st April 02:04

[Gouki]

nickfrog said:

A decent rule of thumb is to start on cold road pressure (to avoid shoulder damage induced by under inflating early) and come in after 2/3 laps to let air out back down to cold pressure. And repeat if necessary. In practice I have found that running around 0.3 bar under cold road pressure seemed to be the sweet spot indeed but every circuit or day is different (my car is a OG M2). Using the onboard temp/pressure monitor is great (can be invoked by the "tyre pressure" voice command btw).

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 1st April 02:04

Brilliant, the NickFrog 'rule of thumb' is pretty much what the $500 michelin track connect set up requires. But possibly a little more air out.

[nickfrog]

Gouki said:

Brilliant, the NickFrog 'rule of thumb' is pretty much what the $500 michelin track connect set up requires. But possibly a little more air out.

I just saw that. I am glad I could save someone money. In fairness there will be variations either way. I have had cold wet days where you hardly took anything out and summer days at fast tracks where you would go up to half a bar out. The thing is the method works for any car or tyre. And the main thing is not take the air out until the tyre is warm. The Michelin tool is very handy/smart indeed.

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 1st April 10:52